The number of Chinese cities with GDP figures that exceeded one trillion yuan ( 146 billion USD) increased from ten to twelve in 2016, China News Agency reports.

Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province and Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province broke the one-trillion-yuan mark for the first time last year.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the expanding one-trillion-yuan club demonstrates a changing economy in China. Nanjing and Qingdao are benefiting as the Chinese economy transitions from relying on old smokestack industries to fostering sectors like services and consumption.

In 2006, Shanghai became the first Chinese city with a GDP figure that exceeded one trillion yuan, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou and now Nanjing and Qingdao. Among them, the GDP of the top two cities, namely Shanghai and Beijing, have reached 2.74 trillion yuan (400 billion USD) and 2.49 trillion yuan (362 billion USD), respectively.